F45 co-founder buys $25.5 million apartment

PHOTO: F45

As Sydneysiders brace themselves for a potential interest rate hike by the Reserve Bank on Tuesday, there are no such concerns for F45 co-founder Rob Deutsch and his wife, Nicole Perso, after they bought an apartment in Crown’s One Barangaroo tower for $25.5 million with no mortgage.

It is the second trophy home purchase logged on title records by the couple in recent months after a Bellevue Hill house bought for $37.5 million, again with no need for finance.

**The four-bedroom apartment in Crown’s One Barangaroo has sold for $3 million more than it last traded for two years ago. Photo: Domain**

Deutsch co-founded the fitness franchise F45 with Adam Gilchrist (not the cricketer) in 2013, but cashed in on his share of the company in 2019 before its headline float on the US stock exchange two years ago.

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At the time of the float, the company share price opened at $US17 a share and rose to a peak of $US17.28 a month later before tumbling on a series of earnings downgrades. It was trading at US98 cents on Monday.

Gilchrist stepped down as chief executive last year and has since sold two neighbouring Freshwater houses for a combined $22.8 million and listed two NSW North Coast investment properties.

**Rob Deutsch launched a new baby products business, Markot, last year. Photo: Rhett Wyman**

Deutsch has pivoted from the fitness franchise business to the baby products industry, launching an online marketplace for baby brands called Markot last year.

Deutsch’s purchase in Crown’s landmark WilkinsonEyre-designed tower offered a handsome capital gain for Hong Kong-based businesswoman and vendor Huanhuan Zheng.

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The four-bedroom, four-bathroom apartment last traded off the plan two years earlier for $22.5 million, equating to a $3 million jump in value in 24 months. It was listed with a $29 million guide last year.